Jessica narrates the tale of a police detective sent to teach a university criminology class and challenges his students to solve a real homicide.Jessica narrates the tale of a police detective sent to teach a university criminology class and challenges his students to solve a real homicide.Jessica narrates the tale of a police detective sent to teach a university criminology class and challenges his students to solve a real homicide.
Photos
- Joanne Summerfield
- (as Elinor O'Connell)
- Leo Gunderson
- (as William Brochtrup)
- Girl
- (as Holly Clark)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is one of several episodes where Jessica Fletcher only appears briefly as the narrator of a frame story. In this case, the episode centers on the investigation by one of her many friends and acquaintances, Lt. Jake Ballinger. These episodes that featured Fletcher only as a narrator were primarily used as a device to give an overworked Angela Lansbury a bit of a break.
- GoofsIn a ridiculous scene, Lt. Ballinger discharges a firearm in a crowded lecture hall just to get the attention of talkative students. Even assuming that the gun was loaded with blanks (that is not clear from the scene), such an action would have been unthinkable in a 1980s university. If an instructor fired a gun in a classroom, again even loaded with blanks, they would have been summarily fired and would likely have faced serious criminal charges. It seems likely that an experienced police lieutenant would know of the potential repercussions of discharging a firearm in a classroom and would have avoided doing so for such a frivolous reason.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Jessica Fletcher: [on phone] Jake, I'm sorry, but you're wrong.
[pause]
Jessica Fletcher: No! That is absolutely untrue. You have not been put out to graze.
[pause]
Jessica Fletcher: Yes. Yes, I'm sure you do.
[pause]
Jessica Fletcher: Now, look, I may be flying out there in a month, and I promise I will call you the minute that I land.
[pause]
Jessica Fletcher: Wonderful. Well, love to Janie. Bye.
- SoundtracksMurder She Wrote Theme
Written by John Addison
Most of these bookend episodes are okay but make you wish Lansbury has been in the lead. And, you can assume by the structure of the shows that they were intended as potential spinoff series. Oddly, "Class Act" actually did something no other bookend episode did...it made me wish the network HAD made a series out of it!
In "Class Act", Barry Newman plays a police lieutenant, Jake Ballinger, who is frustrated because one of his cases is closed too quickly. Although a guy confessed to the killing, it seems he might have been coerced into doing this with the promise of a light sentence. And, when Ballinger tries to get the files on the case, they are locked...and no one in the department seems to have access. Obviously some important person has ordered the case to be buried. Additionally, for even asking about the closed case, he's now being punished...taken off active duty and placed in charge of teaching a class at the local university!
While Jake has zero interest in teaching a law enforcement class, he goes. After all, if he doesn't he'll likely be fired. But he finds that the students in the class only took it because they figure it will be an easy A. After dispelling this notion, all but two of his students withdraw. And, with the remaining two students, he decided to investigate the closed case...sort of learning in the field.
This is a really good an intelligently written episode. Most importantly, it left me wanting more and could have worked well as a weekly series....having a small group of eager students helping him work on closed cases or cases which were never solved. Well worth seeing and truly original.
- planktonrules
- Dec 6, 2022